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Through UN Action, UNICEF is leading a consultative process to develop indicators to measure progress in implementing Security Council resolution 1820; and to generate proposals on monitoring and reporting gaps in the UN’s response to conflict-related sexual violence, as requested by the Security Council. Hide

The project “Strengthening prevention of sexual violence in conflict with parties to armed conflict (phase I)” was submitted for funding to UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict in December 2009. The project, in which UNICEF, UNFPA, DPA and OCHA have partnered up, aims to develop a set of tools and approaches for engaging parties to conflict, and calling on them to respect international law and to stop using rape and other forms of sexual violence as a weapon of warfare. Hide

UNICEF undertook in-depth research into the social dynamics of abandonment of harmful practices and social norms, in collaboration with partners. This research provided new insights and increased the understanding of social norms in perpetuating different forms of harmful traditional practices, including Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), child marriage, household violence and other forms of violence, such as sexual exploitation and trafficking. Hide

The World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November 2008, was organized jointly by UNICEF, the Government of Brazil, ECPAT and the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child., resulting in the “Rio de Janeiro Pact to Prevent and Stop Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents”.UNICEF continued to support social mobilization efforts at all levels to change attitudes and behaviour on violence against women and girls, including sexual violence and exploitation, trafficking and female genital mutilation. Hide

In follow up to the recommendations of the UN Study on Violence against Children, and in preparation or the World Congress III, UNICEF continued to support research, studies and data collection on different forms of violence against girls, including in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as ILO-IPEC, IOM, ECPAT, and Save the Children. Hide

UNICEF continued to work with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and provide support at regional and national level to legal reform on violence against women and girls. Hide

At global level, UNICEF co-led the gender-based violence area of responsibility of the Protection Cluster Working Group and participated in the ECHA/ECPS UN and NGO Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, and the working group on victims’ assistance developing a guide to support the implementation of the General Assembly Resolution “United Nations Comprehensive Strategy on Assistance and Support to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by United Nations Staff and related Personnel”. Hide

In 2008, on the basis of the Coordinated Strategy to Abandon FGM/C in One Generation, UNICEF in collaboration with local partners supported programmes in 21 countries, including through data collection, public awareness-raising, training of community members, health workers, traditional leaders and decision makers. Hide

Through the UNFPA and UNICEF Trust Fund and Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) a quarterly monitoring tool was developed to capture achievements of each output under the Joint Programme, the lessons learned and challenges; the contribution of each output towards achievement of the outcomes in the Joint Programme was developed; a baseline matrix was drafted to guide the collection of baseline information and was circulated to all countries for adaptation. Hide

Through the UNFPA and UNICEF Trust Fund and Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), achievements included: launch in Djibouti and Guinea Bissau, where a forum was created for advocacy and policy dialogue towards accelerated abandonment of FGM/C within a generation, with a wide range of stakeholders; policy discussions were held in four Country Offices of UNFPA and UNICEF and with partners, in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, and Egypt aimed at clarifying issues related to the operation of the Joint Programme and Trust Fund. In Sudan, the Trust Fund supported media advocacy capacity for partners implementing the Joint Programme. Hide